Harper, Farroba Headline 2013 BSU Athletics Hall of Fame Induction Class

Harper, Farroba Headline 2013 BSU Athletics Hall of Fame Induction Class

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University Athletics Hall of Fame Committee has announced the members of its 20th induction class to be enshrined during Homecoming Weekend in October.  Field hockey standout, Lynne Bennett ’85, wrestling great, Craig Buckley ’04, volleyball standout, Kelsey Collasius ’08, basketball coaching legend, Joe Farroba, former BSU Director of Athletics, John Harper and football great, Brenden Kavey ’06 will officially enter the Hall on Friday, October 25, 2013.

Longtime Brockton Enterprise writer Jim Fenton will also be honored with the Crimson & White Award which goes to an outstanding supporter of BSU Athletics.  Fenton joins Tom Lee (1996) and Robert Carter (1996) as only the third recipient of the award.  The induction banquet will  take place on Friday, October 25, 2013.

John Harper spent 21 years as the Director of Athletics at Bridgewater State beginning in 1991. Under Harper’s leadership, the BSU athletics program flourished with highly competitive teams and dramatically upgraded facilities including Alumni Park, the Adrian Tinsley Center and Swenson Field.

Among the many team highlights at the national level during Harper’s tenure include the runner-up finish by the softball team in 1994, the baseball team’s third place showing in 1996 and seventh place performance in 1997, and the Sweet Sixteen run by the men’s basketball team in 2009.  Bridgewater State also captured the prestigious Howard C. Smith Cup, which goes annually to the top MASCAC program, 11 times during his 21 years at the school after earning it just once the previous 19.

Harper has received numerous awards and honors at both the national and regional level including the NACDA Division Northeast Region Athletics Director of the Year in 2003 and the ECAC Division III Male Administrator of the Year in 2011.  He received the Boston Globe South Sectional Sportsman of the Year Award in 2000 as well as the Games Director of the Year Award and John and Maria Hanlon Award from Massachusetts Special Olympics in 1999 and 2003, respectively.  John was also honored by the Massachusetts chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2011 and was selected as the New England Wrestling Association Administrator of the Year in 2013.

Joe Farroba will be entering his 22nd season at the helm of the BSU men’s basketball program.  A four-time MASCAC Coach of the Year (1998, 2009, 2010, 2012), Farroba is the all-time winningest coach in program history as he has amassed an overall record of 299-256 (.539).

Under his tutelage, the men’s basketball team reached postseason play eight times including NCAA Division III Tournament appearances in 1999, 2006, 2009, 2010 and 2011.  The 2009 squad advanced to the NCAA Tournament “Sweet Sixteen” with a dramatic upset win over nationally ranked Middlebury College.

Lynne Bennett starred on the field hockey team from 1981 to 1984, as she was the Bears’ starting goaltender for each of her last three seasons.  Bennett garnered All-MASCAC honors as a senior in 1984 and also was an honorable mention on the ECAC Division III All-New England Team.  Bridgewater advanced to the NCAA Tournament her sophomore season and made back-to-back ECAC Tournament appearances in 1983 and 1984.

During her junior campaign of 1983, Bennett set the school record which still stands with 12 shutouts.  She also holds the Bears’ career mark with 22 shutouts.  The field hockey team posted an impressive record of 48-18-15 (.685) during her career including 13-win seasons in 1982 (13-6-3) and 1983 (13-4-3).  The 13 wins stood as a program single-season record until 2007.

A two-time All-American, Craig Buckley is arguably the greatest grappler in the history of the BSU wrestling program.  Buckley competed for the Bears for three seasons from 2001 to 2004 and captured the New England title and advanced to the NCAA Division III Tournament in each of those three seasons.  He earned All-American honors at the 197-pound weight class by placing seventh at the NCAAs in 2002.  Buckley achieved the honor again, this time competing out of the 184-pound weight class, in 2004 as he finished sixth at the national championship meet.

A three-time New England Champion and Pilgrim Wresting League All-Star, Buckley holds the BSU program record for career winning percentage as he posted an impressive record of 110-16 (.873).  He also set the school single-season mark with a .923 winning percentage in 2001-2002 when he went 41-3.  Buckley’s 110 career wins ranks third all-time at BSU and his 29 pins is good for fifth all-time.

Kelsey Collasius had a terrific four-year career for the Bears’ volleyball team from 2004 to 2007 as she is the program’s record holder for kills in a game, season and career.  Collasius tallied 1,762 kills including a program-best 597 as a junior in 2006.  She is also second all-time in blocks with 641 and never missed a match playing all 147 contests during the four-year span.

A four-time All-MASCAC selection and two-time MASCAC Player of the Year (2006, 2007), Collasius helped the Bears capture four straight MASCAC Tournament championships and advance to the NCAA Division III Tournament in each of her four seasons.  She was also named to the New England Women’s Volleyball Association Second Team as a junior in 2006 and an honorable mention honoree in 2007.

Brenden Kavey excelled on the gridiron for the Bears from 2003 to 2006 as one of the top running backs in program history.  Kavey owns two of the top three single-season rushing marks in team history including a school-record 1,400 yards in 2005.  He is second only to BSU Hall of Famer Seto Berry in career rushing yards with 3,579 and third in rushing touchdowns with 37.  His 21 touchdowns in 2005 is also a program record.

Kavey garnered All-New England Football Conference honors in 2004 and 2005.  He was named the NEFC Offensive Player of the Year in 2004 and was also selected to the New England Football Writers Division II/III All-New England Team.  In 2005, Kavey earned all-region honors for three different organizations (Football Gazette, D3football, com, ECAC) and was voted to the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) All-America Team.  He was selected by the AFCA to represent the United States in the 2005 Aztec Bowl in Mexico.

Jim Fenton has been covering Bridgewater State varsity sports in some capacity either by feature story, game coverage or coverage in his weekly college roundup since the mid 80s.  He has worked at The Enterprise since 1981 and received the ECAC-SIDA Media Award in 2000 and the Northeast-10 Dick Lipe Media Award in 2004.  Fenton also was selected as the New England Collegiate Athletic Conference Sports Media Person of the Year in 1995-96.

The induction of Bennett, Buckley, Collasius, Farroba, Harper and Kavey will bring the BSU Hall of Fame's total membership to 126.

The ceremony will take place at the Rondileau Campus Center Ballroom with a cocktail reception getting underway at 6:30 PM followed by dinner at 7.  Tickets can be purchased by contactingMichelle Slavick in Alumni Relations at 508-531-2682 or via email at mslavick@bridgew.edu.  The cost is $35 per person and checks should be made out to Bridgewater State University.